Real Madrid demands Tebas exit as propaganda row escalates

Real Madrid have called for Javier Tebas to resign as LaLiga president and Spanish football federation vice-president, escalating a dispute over his comparison of the club’s communications methods with those used by Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels.Tebas has defended his remarks as criticism of communications techniques rather than an ideological comparison, while questioning reports that Spain’s National Sports Council, the CSD, could consider action on its own initiative.Real Madrid said: “Real Madrid considers it absolutely intolerable and extraordinarily serious that someone holding two positions of utmost responsibility in Spanish football resorts to a comparison with the propaganda methods of the Nazi regime to discredit our club, its management and its television.“The clarification that he is not referring to Nazi ideology does not lessen the deeply offensive, morally repugnant and institutionally unworthy nature of his statements.“These statements constitute yet another episode in the repeated attacks by Javier Tebas against Real Madrid, its president and its media outlets.”The club accused Tebas of repeatedly attacking their leadership and television channel, arguing that his conduct demonstrated a lack of neutrality incompatible with his institutional responsibilities.Their statement demanded his immediate resignation from both positions and linked the dispute to wider disagreements over refereeing, governance and the handling of the Negreira case.Madrid said they had approached UEFA to seek clarification of Barcelona’s payments to a former vice-president of Spain’s refereeing committee, while demanding an overhaul of refereeing and federation structures.Those demands represent the club’s position and do not establish wrongdoing by the individuals or institutions criticised.Tebas maintained that his original remarks expressly excluded any comparison between Nazi ideology and Real Madrid or their supporters.Writing on X, Tebas said: “That method recalls propaganda mechanisms exploited by Goebbels, propaganda minister of Nazi Germany: systematic repetition, the construction of an enemy and the subordination of facts to the narrative.“The comparison is with those propaganda techniques, not with an ideology nor, of course, with Real Madrid supporters.”He argued that removing that qualification misrepresented his comments, while expressing disbelief at reports that the CSD was examining whether to intervene.No formal CSD proceedings or decision were confirmed in the initial reporting, leaving any potential regulatory response separate from Madrid’s demand for his departure.CSD president José Manuel Rodríguez Uribes has subsequently confirmed that Tebas will be investigated on the authority’s own initiative over the remarks, moving the dispute beyond speculation about possible intervention.Rodríguez Uribes said: “Nazism cannot be used, even with qualifications.”He described the comparison as “terrible” despite the distinctions Tebas had drawn, and indicated that the remarks could breach the law.His intervention does not establish a legal breach or determine a sanction, but confirms that Tebas’ explanation has not prevented the matter from attracting official scrutiny.Tebas also challenged what he portrayed as inconsistent treatment of public statements by senior football figures, citing earlier remarks by Real Madrid president Florentino Pérez about league titles and refereeing.He referred to reporting that an investigator had recommended closing federation proceedings concerning Pérez’s comments on freedom-of-expression grounds, questioning how that approach would compare with scrutiny of his own remarks.Tebas concluded: “The procedures and responsibilities may be different. Institutional consistency is still required.“Read what I actually wrote, explain the criteria and apply them independently. Freedom of expression cannot depend on the surname of the person speaking.”The confrontation places the relationship between LaLiga’s leadership and one of its most commercially significant clubs under further strain, with Madrid challenging Tebas’ fitness to hold office and the league president defending his right to criticise the club.Madrid have extended their demands beyond the immediate exchange to institutional reform, while any CSD response would require a separate assessment of whether action is warranted.Rodríguez Uribes’ confirmation now adds an official investigation to that institutional dispute, with its outcome and any resulting measures still to be determined.